Superstition helps explain how people think about gun laws THE Onion put it best: “‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.” An accurate summary of gun-control opponents’ response to America’s periodic gun massacres, the headline was also familiar. The satirical website has run it, with few alterations to an accompanying spoof article, five times: after six people were murdered in California in 2014; after nine were murdered in South Carolina, nine in Oregon and 14 in California in 2015; and after the killing of 58 and maiming of 489 people by a lone gunman in Las Vegas on October 1st. By making it even a bit harder for killers to get guns—as action taken in Australia, Britain and Canada shows—America would have fewer gun deaths.👍 http://ift.tt/2i9mii3

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Daria Gavrilova into Connecticut Open final decider

Daria Gavrilova has upset top-seeded titleholder Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets to surge into the Connecticut Open final.

In a huge US Open morale booster, Gavrilova outclassed the former world No.2 and Wimbledon finalist 6-4 6-4 to set up a title showdown with 2016 season-ending championship winner Dominika Cibulkova.

Gavrilova is chasing her maiden WTA Tour title after losing the final in Strasbourg in May to fellow Australian Samantha Stosur.

The 23-year-old will be brimming with confidence after guaranteeing herself a big rankings rise after holding her nerve to end Radwanska’s six-match winning streak in New Haven.

Source: Daria Gavrilova into Connecticut decider

Strong winds for Melbourne, blizzards for Victorian Alps this weekend

Victorians are being urged to secure their properties ahead of wild weather this weekend.

The Alpine region in the state’s north-east will be hardest hit, with one metre of fresh snowfall, winds of between 90 and 110km/h and very poor visibility from Saturday.

Scott Williams, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology’s extreme weather desk, said Mt Hotham would probably have the strongest winds and snowfall.

“Hotham, Falls Creek, Mt Buller will all be pretty similar with snow amounts, but Hotham just tends to get the strongest winds including the road leading up to the top,” he said.

The snowfall would be the biggest of the season, adding to the 75-80 centimetres already at Mt Hotham and Falls Creek.

Melbourne won’t be as windy as last Saturday, but the bureau is tipping gusts of between 80 and 90km/h in bayside areas and elevated parts of the city, mainly on Saturday night and Sunday.

The winds will continue until late Monday in Melbourne and coastal parts of Victoria.

Source: Strong winds for Melbourne, blizzards for Victorian Alps this weekend

Islamic State is on Australia’s doorstep: Their secret dens and a mobile phone confirms it

AS he descends the dozen steps into total darkness, Corporal Roger Morillo pauses for a moment, less to allow his eyes to adjust and more to note the gravitas of what lies beneath.

The air is dank, the relentless monsoonal rains outside have seeped through the underground plastered walls and the bespectacled young soldier sighs as he twists his slight but tall frame to enter the dungeon.

Some of the 100 soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been killed by what was done here in this cramped space below a house in the city of Marawi; some were friends, all were colleagues and their deaths and the continued conflict weighs heavily on most of the 20-something year old soldiers on the newest ISIS frontline.

In the first four weeks of the insurgency in this once lively city of Marawi on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, Filipino forces suffered more than 300 casualties many maimed from the sorts of injuries from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) like the ones that were believed to have been made from this and other hidden dens of death.

A mini bomb factory using eight to 10 inch nails packed into urns and other vessels that can tear a body apart and have hampered forces from retaking the city from the Islamic State backed rebels.

“We weren’t expecting this,” the Filipino soldier Morillo says as his torch lights up the dark corners.

Source: Islamic State in South East Asia with terror in Philippines leading to jihad elsewhere | Perth Now

The Royal House Of Windsor is a series timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the House. It boldly promised to reveal ‘the human frailties and secrets

The Royal House Of Windsor is a six-part series timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the House but many of its promised revelations are well known, writes CLAUDIA CONNELL.

Source: CLAUDIA CONNELL reviews last night’s TV  | Daily Mail Online

Elton John adds Wollongong to Australian tour

Crooner Sir Elton John, 69, announced a third date to his September local tour of Australia, playing in Wollongong in New South Wales, on September 24.

Source: Elton John adds Wollongong to Australian tour | Daily Mail Online